Remains of NT croc attack victim found
1:23

The remains of a man taken by a crocodile in the Northern Territory's Kakadu National Park have been found.

Sky News

08 Jun 2014

News

THE fishing community of the Northern Territory are “shocked” after the weekend crocodile attack that killed a 62-year-old man - but that won’t stop them going into the man-eater’s territory to wet a line.

Corroboree Park Tavern, located on the Arnhem Highway, is a popular stop for many heading out to fishing spots in Kakadu National Park and further out, in permit-only Arnhem Land.

Tavern manager Mitch Bathis said the grave topic has been on the tip of most fishos’ tongues.

Croc leaps at tour guide
0:43

Remember to keep all of your limbs well inside the boat when touring the Top End

NT News

06 Jan 2014

News

Police searching for the 62-year-old man taken by a saltwater crocodile from his boat along the South Alligator River in the Northern Territory.Source: News Corp Australia

Police say the man was in Kakadu on a fishing trip with his wife, son and daughter-in-law at a remote waterhole on the South Alligator River system when he was taken by a 4.7m (15.3ft) crocodile on Saturday afternoon around 5pm.

Police have told media the man was in a boat and washing or emptying a bucket at the time of the attack.

The man’s family heard splashing sounds and turned around but were not able to save him.

The victim’s wife and daughter-in-law drove for two hours to the small town of Cooinda to raise the alarm.

There is no mobile phone network coverage in large areas of Kakadu National Park.

“No, it’s too late, he’s gone...” - the story that has shocked Australia - in your copy of today’s NT News. Can’t get the paper where you are? Read the NT News online

Fishing from a tiny boat in Kakadu - is it worth it?Source: News Limited

Mr Bathis said its made people more aware of the risks of fishing in crocodile infested waters.

“People go out and don’t think about it. It hasn’t scared anyone off fishing.”

“They know what the water is like.

“People that come out here, they’ve come here for years.

“They’ve learnt to fish with the crocodile.

“They have got to become one with the crocodile.”

A crocodile attacked the boat owned by Dean Bennett (left) while he, his brother Matt Davis (centre) and John ‘Snapper’ Curwen-Walker were sleeping on it at the mouth of the South Alligator River in 2012.Source: News Limited

Fisho Keith Watson and the damage done to his boat by a crocodile during a fishing trip in the NT.Source: News Limited

In 2011 Kevin Eccles was admitted to hospital after being savaged by a crocodile.

A 2.5m (8.2ft) croc jumped out of the water and latched on to his shoulder while he was sitting in his 4.5m (14.7ft) boat.

Mr Eccles had to poke the creature in the eye to force it to let go.

A saltwater crocodile leaps from the water at Kakadu in the Northern Territory. Photo: BIOSPHOTOSource: Supplied

Yesterday, police and Kakadu National Park rangers conducted spotlight searching through the night for the man, continuing the search with a helicopter and vessels throughout the day.

A 4.63m crocodile was located and shot by park rangers shortly after noon and the body of the man recovered.

The human remains have been sent for forensic examination.

Commander Bruce Porter of the Northern Command said, “This is a tragic event and our thoughts are with the family during this very difficult time.”

Veteran crocodile catcher and NT Parks and Wildlife ranger Tom Nichols has warned previously of the risks taken by some fishos.

“It happens every year with the run-off and the desire to catch barra”.

‘There are signs there and the fishos have been warned by fisheries and by rangers.”

“All we can do is say people have got to be aware,” he said.

NT News reader Geoff Hubbard took this shot of fishos in or near the water at Shady Camp, with crocs lurking nearby.Source: Supplied

Sergeant Andrew Hocking said the area where the man went missing had recently been reopened to coincide with the start of the Dry season.

“The difficulty [with the search] in this location is getting in large boats. We’re only able to bring in small boats, but using the expertise of the Territory Parks and Wildlife staff, they managed to help us bring it to a conclusion,” he said.

“Thankfully this was carried out and [the victim] recovered very, very quickly.

“They [searches] can be quite difficult and take a number of days sometimes before any resolution.”

Authorities found human remains near where the boy had been swimming with friends in a billabong west of Jabiru.

Another 15-year-old boy had been bitten but was released during the attack.

The monster crocodile known as ‘Sweetheart’ is loaded on to a trailer after it was captured in the Finniss River in 1979. It is now on show at Darwin’s Museum and Art Gallery.Source: Supplied

LIST OF CROC ATTACKS

JUNE 7, 2014: A 62-year-old man is taken while fishing with family members at the Flying Fox waterhole in the South Alligator River system in Kakadu National Park.

JANUARY 26, 2014: A 12-year-old boy goes missing after he was taken by a crocodile while swimming behind Mudginberri outstation about 20km west of Jabiru. Another boy, 15, was bitten on the arm but escaped before the croc turned on the other boy in front of friends. READ THIS STORY

Friends and family pay their respects to a 12-year-old boy taken while swimming with friends at Magela Creek, in Kakadu National Park in 2014.Source: News Limited

AUGUST 24, 2013: A crocodile killed a 26-year-old man while swimming in the Mary River near the Mary River Wilderness Retreat, about halfway between Darwin and Kakadu National Park.

DECEMBER 1, 2012: A 4m crocodile killed a nine-year-old boy who was swimming with friends at a Territory beach at Port Bradshaw near Dhania outstation, 100km south of Nhulunbuy.

NOVEMBER 16, 2012: A 3m crocodile killed a seven-year-old girl who was swimming at a waterhole at Gumarrirnbang outstation about 110km southwest of Maningrida.

FEBRUARY 20, 2011: A crocodile killed a 14-year-old boy playing in a creek with his brothers in Milingimbi 450km east of Darwin.

APRIL 2009: Father-of-two Keith Parry, 20, was killed by a 4m croc while trying to swim across the Daly River, south of Darwin.

MARCH 2009: 11-year-old Briony Goodsell was taken at Black Jungle Swamp at Lambells Lagoon in Darwin’s rural area while swimming with her sister and two friends.

Crocodile attack victim Briony GoodsellSource: Supplied

JULY 2006: A 5m crocodile killed an eight-year-old girl as she fished with her family on the Blythe River.

SEPTEMBER 2005: Darwin man Russell Butel, 55, was killed off the Cobourg Peninsula, while diving with a mate in Trepang Bay.

SEPTEMBER 2005: A 4m croc killed Russell Harris, 37, while he snorkelled off Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

DECEMBER 2003: A 4m croc killed Brett Mann, 22, while he cleaned his quad bike in the Finniss River, 100km south of Darwin. His two friends spent 22 hours up a tree waiting to be rescued while the croc stalked them below.

OCTOBER 22, 2002: Isabel von Jordan, a 24-year-old student from Germany, was killed by a 5m saltwater crocodile in Kakadu National Park’s Sandy Creek billabong while swimming with a group of tourists.

Isabel von Jordan at Darwin Airport.Source: News Limited

Rangers using a 4WD vehicle to drag the dead crocodile that attacked and killed German tourist Isabel von Jordan at Sandy Creek Billabong in Kakadu National Park, in 2002.Source: News Limited

The Sandy Creek Billabong in Kakadu National Park where German tourist Isabel von Jordan was attacked and killed by a crocodile in 2002Source: News Limited

DECEMBER 23, 1998: Peter Munkara, 34, an artist from Melville Island, was found near the island’s Paru boat ramp with crocodile bite marks on his body.

AUGUST 7, 1998: The body of a man in his 20s was found in the Roper River, 500km southeast of Darwin, believed to be a victim of a croc attack.

DECEMBER 13, 1997: A man was killed trying to swim across the Daly River, 230km south of Darwin.

A saltwater crocodile accelerates through the water.Source: News Corp Australia

OCTOBER 1988: Alex Bururru, 25, of Maningrida, was killed in Cato River near Nhulunbuy, NT.

MARCH 17, 1987: Kerry McLoughlin, 40, a Jabiru storeman, was decapitated by a 5.1m crocodile while wading at Cahills Crossing on the East Alligator River in Kakadu. He threw a beer can at its head to try to escape.

Young men frolicking on a crocodile trap on a Kakadu waterway.Source: Supplied

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